Steven Moffat to step down from Doctor Who, Broadchurch's Chris Chibnall to take over

Steven Moffat, the long-time showrunner of Doctor Who, has announced his departure from the series.

Moffat has overseen six series of the BBC's sci-fi classic, but has now announced that his time at the show is at an end. He will be replaced by Chris Chibnall, who is the creator of Broadchurch.

The writer, who is also the co-writer of Sherlock, took over from Russell T Davies as the show's head honcho in 2010, but will finish up in 2017. His final series will air in the spring of 2017 and he will also write a Christmas special for 2016. There will not be a full season of Doctor Who this year.

Speaking about his departure, Moffat said: "Feels odd to be talking about leaving when I’m just starting work on the scripts for season 10, but the fact is my timey-wimey is running out. While Chris is doing his last run of Broadchurch, I’ll be finishing up on the best job in the universe and keeping the TARDIS warm for him."

He continued: "It took a lot of gin and tonic to talk him into this, but I am beyond delighted that one of the true stars of British Television drama will be taking the Time Lord even further into the future. At the start of season 11, Chris Chibnall will become the new showrunner of Doctor Who. And I will be thrown in a skip."

THe 2015 Doctor Who Christmas special - Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song, is released on DVD today.